Recollections
by Jeffrey Patrick
Summary: Xander Harris is interviewed about the Slayer's last battle.


Title: Recollections  
  
Author: Jeffrey Patrick  
  
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters represented in this story.  
  
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A.L. Harris Interview Transcript  
  
Interview conducted by Fred Iverson  
  
  
  
Iverson: Do you mind if I tape this? Just for reference, of course.  
  
  
Harris: Sure.  
  
  
I: First, let me thank you, Mr. Harris for talking with me about what, I'm certain, is a painful topic.  
  
  
H: Well...(long pause)... Maybe it's time for the story to be told. Time for Buffy to be recognized.  
  
  
I: If you could, Mr. Harris...  
  
  
  
H: Xander is fine.  
  
  
I: Sorry. Xander it is. Start, if you would, by telling me about Buffy's death and its effect on you and your friends in the.... What was it you called them earlier?  
  
  
H: The Scooby Gang.  
  
  
I: Of course. Take your time. If you feel the need to stop for a while just let me know.  
  
  
H: Okay. When Buffy died, everything went to hell... and, I mean that literally. The oldest vampire still roaming the earth put her in the ground and finished the ritual that plunged the world into darkness. It was called the Rite of D'kar and the only thing that could reverse it was a vampire giving his life to stop it. Once again, Angel, Buffy's ex, forced me to hate him by selflessly throwing himself into the Pool of Whispers that was the key to the whole ritual. Don't ask. When the sun came up just hours later, everything was different. The world was saved, but we were damned.  
  
  
I: I would imagine Joyce Summers was devestated. Were you all able to be of some assistance?   
  
  
  
H: Well, Giles, Buffy's Watcher, was a rock for Joyce, but all Alan Alda about it when no one was looking. I was with him when he called the Coucil of Watchers. I didn't envy the man. It had, of course, been years since he had officially worked for them, but he knew another slayer would be among them soon and thought they should know. That same night, I saw a tear run down his face as he put Mr. Pointy away for good in a glass display case of ancient weapons. Willow was worried that he would lose what was left of his health. She and Joyce kept in touch with him through the years, but I couldn't. There was too much of Buffy around him. I just couldn't. I haven't seen him since the funeral.  
  
  
I: And what of Angel's cohorts?  
  
  
H: Cordelia and Wesley kept Angel's agency going. They made it all of three weeks before Wesley was killed by a Gan'thar demon. Cordelia moved back to Sunnydale after that. Last I heard, she was working in a dress shop on the corner of Hill and Market. Willow said she ran into her there, but Cordy never said a word, as though she shut out all memory of Buffy and the Scoobies. Willow just let it go. She was no stranger to the pain.  
  
  
I: Why do you say that? Did Ms. Rosenburg feel responsible somehow?  
  
  
H: Yeah. I mean, Buffy had fought hard to stop the Rite of D'kar and Willow had done her best to help. She and Giles cast a spell of protection over Buff, but it didn't hold up to the onslaught she faced. I was there, so I know. What I saw them do to her... was.... Will was devestated. Buffy died at the hands of Va'ken, but as far as she was concerned, it was all her fault. I know the feeling. Va'ken crushed my leg and gave me this limp I carry as a reminder, but I still feel like I failed. If I hadn't been so distracted by Anya's return to her bad guy status, I might have made more of a difference. As it was, I could only take down Anya, which in and of itself was the second hardest thing I've ever had to live with.  
  
  
I: Would you like to tell us what happened with Anya?  
  
  
H: No. I don't want to talk about that at all.  
  
  
I: Of course. Do you still speak with Ms. Rosenburg?  
  
  
H: I talk to Will once or twice a year. She always suggests getting together with Giles and Cordy for old time's sake, but it'll never happen. I love Will. I do. But I can't go back there. Not now. Maybe not ever. I know Willow needs that for closure, but I just can't. It's hard enough hearing her voice on the phone. We never talk very long.  
  
  
I: That's a shame... I remember you two being pretty close.  
  
  
H: Yeah, well....  
  
  
I: Tell us, if you think you can without too much pain, what happened the night Buffy died.  
  
  
H: Okay. Like I said earlier, the oldest vampire around, a jerk called Va'ken, decided that the Hellmouth could be opened yet again by an ancient ritual called the Rite of D'kar. According to Giles, the ritual had been done once before, at the beginning of time. The world had been plunged into darkness and remained there until the powers that be stepped in. Unfortunately, according to the G-man, they didn't act until thousands of years of darkness had passed. We knew we didn't have that long to wait. The apocalypse was wired to play.  
  
  
I: How did Buffy become aware of the...uh, impending doom as it were?  
  
  
H: She had a vision. Seems like she always did when something real bad was going down. She said she saw Angel falling into some sort of weird pool....  
  
  
I: The Pool of Whispers you mentioned earlier?  
  
  
H: The same. The Slayer's blood had to be spilled into the pool for the Hellmouth to open.   
  
  
I: Too bad she didn't know that. She could've run.  
  
  
H: Spoken like someone who didn't know her. Even if she would've known, she would've gone after him to save Angel. Par for the course, really. He was always the source of more than enough trouble.  
  
  
I: You didn't like him.  
  
  
H: I hated him. Mostly, it was jealousy, but when you boiled it all down, he was a vamp. A vamp and a Slayer shouldn't be together. I mean, one moment of happiness nearly got Willow killed. Ms. Calendar did end up dead. Call me old fashioned, but I just can't forget that.  
  
  
I: But he helped save the world...  
  
  
H: And as Angelus, he attempted to send it all to Hell. Saving our bacon was the least the guy could do. Especially after getting Buffy killed.  
  
  
I: What about the other vampire that helped you for a while?  
  
  
H: Spike? He was the one that seduced Anya back to the darkness. I dealt with him, myself, when the chaos had ended and Anya was dead.  
  
  
I: So you killed him?  
  
  
H: Huh... No. That would have been way too nice for Spike. He's alive... chained... starving to death slowly in a location only I know about.   
  
  
I: You're serious?  
  
  
H: When he bites it, I'll send you a cigar.  
  
  
I: You're not at all the Xander Harris I thought I knew from school. Working with the Slayer changed you, didn't it?  
  
  
H: How could it not? You don't face what we faced on a daily basis and walk away normal. In fact, you don't walk away at all. You just can't let go of it. We're all shells of who we were. Me probably most of all.  
  
  
I: What about Riley Finn? He was the Slayer's boyfriend for a while. Was he there at the end?  
  
  
H: No. After the initiative debacle, the government began formulating other plans for Agent Finn. He left Sunnydale long before the end. He didn't even show at the funeral.  
  
  
I: Hmmm. What about the other Slayer? Faith?  
  
  
H: Faith got out of jail just after Buffy's funeral. She asked Giles to be her Watcher, but he refused. Last I heard, she was in Morocco. Another Hellmouth opened there. I'm sure she's fine. She was tough.  
  
  
I: Tell us about Buffy, Xander. What was she like?  
  
  
H: She was... She was kind and .... beautiful. God, she was gorgeous. And strong. Not Slayer strong, I mean, but strong inside. She was my hero. She... I'm sorry. I can't... I can't do this. It's just....  
  
  
  
  
It was at this point in the interview that Mr. Harris turned off my recorder and began sobbing uncontrollably. It was as if he had kept all that pain locked in him for so long that it just came rushing out. When I couldn't get him to stop, I called for help. Mr. Harris was taken to Bluepointe Psychiatric Facility in Oaklawn for evaluation. It was there determined that Mr. Harris suffered a sever nervous breakdown. He is currently hospitalized and being cared for by Ms. Rosenburg, his life long friend. At press time, Mr. Harris was still unable to finish the interview.  
  
I didn't have the opportunity to know the Slayer despite living on top of the Hellmouth as we all did. We all knew, during those final days of high school, that she was the one who kept us safe. She was the reason we lived through the night to see another dawn. And for that, Sunnydale and I dare say, the world will remember her.   



End file.
